10:49:59 EDT Fri 29 Mar 2024
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Barrick Gold Corp
Symbol ABX
Shares Issued 1,778,248,850
Close 2021-03-19 C$ 26.17
Market Cap C$ 46,536,772,405
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Barrick proposes closure project at Golden Sunlight

2021-03-22 12:53 ET - News Release

Mr. Mark Bristow reports

PIONEERING MINE CLOSURE PROJECT CREATES VALUE WHILE REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL RISK

Montana Governor Gianforte and Barrick Gold Corp. president and chief executive officer Mark Bristow have met at the closed Golden Sunlight mine in Jefferson county to discuss an innovative project that is expected to create 75 or more jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue and benefits to the state over the next decade, while removing a source of potential water pollution from the mine site.

The project involves the reprocessing of ground rock, known as tailings, from which gold was previously extracted in the Golden Sunlight mills. The focus will be on removing and concentrating sulphur (iron pyrite) that will then be sold to and used in gold production by Nevada Gold Mines, the largest gold-producing complex in the world. Barrick, which owns Golden Sunlight, is also the majority owner and operator of NGM. The concentrated sulphur is not only valuable, but its removal will also eliminate a source of potential groundwater contamination. After reprocessing, the remaining benign material will be backfilled into the Mineral Hill pit.

Governor Gianforte said: "It's great to see Barrick's Golden Sunlight mine continue to invest in the community of southwest Montana. This is the type of investment that is possible when state agencies provide a stable, predictable regulatory process that companies can rely on -- one that benefits the local environment too."

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Bristow said the ground-breaking project, which combined rehabilitation with value creation, would serve as a model for Barrick's future mine closures.

"It's very much in line with Barrick's commitment to sustainability as well as our philosophy of sharing the economic benefits generated by our mines with stakeholders. Everyone wins: the local community gets jobs and cleaner water; the state of Montana gets taxes; and Barrick continues to get some revenue from an operation previously judged to be terminal. We look forward to completing the permitting process this fall and shipping the first concentrates as early as the end of this year," he said.

The Golden Sunlight mine produced more than three million ounces of gold during its nearly 40 years of operation. The mine shut down in 2019 when gold production was no longer economically viable. Public environmental scoping comments on the project closed on March 12, 2021, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality is currently completing its environmental review.

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